Familiar Witness
by kathleen-stabler-12
Summary: Kate never died when she was shot by Ari, but her friends still believe she is dead. She went off the grid for a while and changed her name, coming back as Ms. Caitlin Thomas. What happens when she finds a dead Lieutenant Colonel in a bush, and the case goes to NCIS? Will she tell them? Rated for: Violence, swearing, possible adult situations
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, or any of these characters, bar the dead guy. The wonderful Donald Bellisario does.

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Former Special Agent Caitlin Todd walked down a street in DC. Her former team thought she had died, but the gunshot had only ricocheted off her skull and she hadn't cracked her head. She had gotten away from her "funeral." She missed her friends, though and knew they were all deeply affected. She wondered what the new Probie was like. She tripped over something suddenly and turned around. She saw a man hidden partway behind a bush. He had several knife wounds in his back and a bullet hole in the back of his head. He was clearly dead. He was wearing a Marines uniform. Kate stared at him in shock for a minute before dialing 9-1-1.

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The police looked at the body and called NCIS. They kept Kate there, since she had found the body to answer some questions. She saw Gibbs and the team pull up and felt a pang in her stomach. Tony, McGee, Ducky, Palmer, and a woman who she assumed was the new agent, because she didn't recognize her. Kate was sitting far enough away that even though the team was close, they wouldn't recognize her as who she was before. They would hopefully just think she looked similar. Gibbs talked to them for a minute before the woman approached her.

"Hi, I'm Special Agent Ziva David," she said. "Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Not at all," Kate replied. "My name's Caitlin Thomas."

"Nice to meet you," Ziva said. "You found the body?"

"Barely," answered Kate. "I wasn't looking where I was going and I tripped over his leg, then saw him behind the bush."

"Thank you," said Ziva, nodding and pulling out a card. "You can contact us here if you remember anything else strange about this. We may have to keep in touch."

"Thanks," said Kate. "Am I free to go now?"

Ziva nodded. Kate got up and stared down at the phone number that used to be her desk phone. She sighed, and took one last glance at the team before walking back the way she came.

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own NCIS. And I will now go and cry at that fact.

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"What'cha got?" he asks.

Tony stands up.

"Lieutenant Colonel Asher Arlington. He's 34, not married, no children. And he was an only child, and his parents died in a car crash three years ago."

McGee followed up.

"His record is pristine. No active bank records lately and his cell phone was off at the time of death."

"Ziver?" Gibbs asked.

"The woman that found Mr. Arlington was a woman named Caitlin Thomas. She is also 34 and she has very minimal bank and phone records. She was totally off the chart-

"Grid," corrected Tony.

"-Yes, grid ,"she continued. "Until mid-June 2005, when she showed up in DC."

"She looks familiar," Tony said. "But I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Yeah," said Gibbs. "I want to bring her in."

He stalked off and McGee got to work to contact Kate.

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own these characters.

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"You're our body finder?" Jen asked her.

"Yes," replied Kate. "Though I am curious, how long had he been dead when I found him? And well, who is he?"

Ducky responded this time.

"He had been deceased about three hours, my dear."

She nodded, before asking:

"So, why am I here? Do you have more questions?"

"Nope," said Abby. "These two thought you look familiar and we wanted to figure out who you reminded them of."

Kate pointed to Gibbs and Tony; Abby and McGee nodded.

"Well I have to say," she said. "You're great detectives."

They smirked.

"Now are you sure you don't have any other names?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes sir," she lied.

"Would you be willing to take a polygraph to prove that?" Tony continued.

"I, I," Kate broke off, caught. "No Agent Gibbs, Agent DiNozzo, I would not."

The members of the room looked at her, confused.

"But you just said you were sure, sure that," Palmer stopped, realizing he was just stating the obvious. Not to mention the fact Gibbs was glaring at him.

"I lied," Kate said.

They stared at her in shock.

"Where did you become such a good liar?" asked McGee.

"I learned from the best," she said. "Special Agent McGee."

They looked at her. She decided not to keep them in suspense.

"The reason I look so familiar," she started. "Is, well, my name isn't Caitlin Thomas, it's Caitlin Todd."

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Cliffhangers! I'm so mean. Please follow, favorite, and especially review!


	4. Note From The Author's Sister

Hello to all the loyal fans of Kathleen, or her name, Jenna, if you will. This is her sister, Marie, and I have some bead news for all of you. Jenna died last year in a driving accident. I found her password and decided that you all needed to know. She would want you to know that she enjoyed writing everything she wrote, and not to cry for her, just because she wasn't a very emotional person like that. Thank you for reading her stories and continuing to do so in memory of her.


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